


and suddenly, all the love songs were about you

by scytherion



Series: mcrn lovemail 24/7 [1]
Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, bc BOIII their atmostphere OOOOF, dumb gays.......... bein dorks.., figurin stuff out, me writing dialogue? holy shit? it's happening?, perspective keeps alternating, somewhat like a relationship study, warm soft and the fluff dial is set to A Lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 06:50:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14396589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scytherion/pseuds/scytherion
Summary: Falling in love with your best friend is either heaven or hell, but when Ran looks at Moca, all that matters is the swooping of her stomach and the vibrancy of Moca's smile, common sense lying in hypothetical pieces outside the hypothetical window be damned.





	and suddenly, all the love songs were about you

Some might find Moca infuriating, some might call her annoying, others might perceive her as lazy, but Ran has never seen Moca as anything but her rock. There’s just _something_ about Moca that sets Ran at ease, causes her to let her shields down when there’s no one else around. That’s just how they’ve always been since they were kids, Moca a steady constant for Ran throughout all walks of her life thus far.

 

Even now, as they walk home together, they talk about nothing, chatting leisurely about anything and everything, fingers casually wrapped around the other’s like second nature. Oftentimes, their conversations trail off into nothingness, but it’s less about the content and more about the atmosphere. Knowing the way home like the back of her hand, Ran lets her eyes flutter close as she feels the warmth of Moca pressed into her side, listens to Moca’s slow, languid voice as she talks about the new bread from Yamabuki bakery she tried earlier today. Letting Moca’s voice wash over her and listening to their footsteps on tarmac, Ran truly feels at peace.

 

For the first time that evening, Ran feels warm, and it’s not completely due to the scarf slung around their necks, and more about the girl she’s sharing it with.

 

* * *

 

To Moca, Ran brings flavour to her life in the simplest ways possible. Sure, she loves all of Afterglow, but there’s something about Ran that really relaxes Moca while simultaneously making each day a new experience. Despite their seemingly repetitive activities, they fall into a steady rhythm of doing things, yet it feels as fresh as the first time they tried it together, and Moca wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

It’s after school, when Ran had come over to Moca’s house to show Moca the new band she’s recently gotten into. Moca wordlessly hands her the left earbud of her earpieces as she props open her laptop in front of them. They lie on her bed stomach-down, side by side, elbows barely touching. As Ran clicks ‘play’, Moca finds herself looking more at her best friend than the band onscreen. It’s an indie-rock band, exactly the kind of band Ran would enjoy, and a small smile plays on Ran’s lips as she watches the music video. Every now and then, Ran points out an interesting chord progression, eyes lighting up like stars, and Moca hums in agreement, yet only half of her mind’s really on the video.

 

Despite rarely exchanging words, it’s during these moments Moca’s completely aware of Ran, Ran’s small huffs of laughter warming Moca from deep inside. Time slows down to the speed of dripping water, and Moca feels a smile pulling at her own lips when Ran claims they could play better than this band.

 

Relaxing the elbows propping her up, Moca lets herself tumble into Ran’s side. Ran lets out a small ‘oof’ sound, but the slight feeling of Ran leaning back into Moca makes Moca grin unabashedly to herself.

 

* * *

 

Ran isn’t completely sure when Moca started pulling out casual one-liners on her. Sometimes, it’s a comment on how cute Ran is, other times even going as far as to give her her number. Whenever she does it, Moca’s eyes narrow, she adopts the most shit-eating grin Ran has ever seen, and her voice takes on a teasing, warm lilt that makes Ran’s spine tingle. Before she knows it, it’s already become a daily occurrence, and it’s a habit to dismiss Moca at the drop of a hat, without even processing whatever new material Moca has come up with. It’s probably just for show, Ran tells herself, since it only really ever happens in public, when they’re out with their other friends. It’s just Moca being, well, Moca.

 

(Ran doesn’t allow herself to hope for the alternative.)

 

That is, until she starts doing it in private too. Small offhand comments, little compliments and soft laughs as the corners of Moca’s eyes crinkle up in joy while she loosely holds Ran’s hand in hers. Except now, unlike when with their friends, Moca no longer adopts the lilting, teasing tone. It takes a few weeks for Ran to put a finger on what tone Moca’s voice is undertaking, before it finally hits her.

 

It’s the tone of _genuinity_ and _warmth_ , and the realisation unexpectedly makes something in Ran’s chest bloom and flower.

 

She quashes the feeling, and tries not to think about Moca’s warm gaze or soft laughter.

 

* * *

 

If there’s one thing about Ran, it’s that she works herself to the bone. Whether it be songwriting, singing or the guitar playing itself, Ran puts her hundred percent in so as to constantly improve. It’s a quality that Moca, a languid person, usually would claim she admires. Yet today, it’s more of a flaw than anything else.

 

“Your finger is bleeding.” Yet Ran only glances down at it briefly, before repositioning her left hand at the fourth fret, getting ready to play the song once more. Moca merely raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

 

“...I don’t have any plasters on me, it’ll be fine.”

 

“It certainly will not, you’ll get blood on your guitar,” Moca declares, taking off her guitar strap and walking briskly towards her guitar case. Unzipping the side pocket, she takes out a box of plasters.

 

It’s Ran’s turn to give questioning looks. “You have plasters? You don’t injure your fingers that often.”

 

“Who do you think it’s for?” Moca retorts without any bite, carefully holding Ran’s hand with one hand and unwrapping the plaster with the other. It has a Michelle design. Taking care to treat Ran’s hand with tenderness, Moca wraps the plaster snugly around Ran’s fingertip, before smiling satisfiedly to herself.

 

“There, Moca-chan made it all better~”

 

“I could’ve just done it by myself,” Ran grumbles, but there’s no real malice in her voice.

 

“Well, I guess you just really wanted Moca-chan to take care of it for you~”

 

Ran’s fingers are soft yet slightly calloused from rigorous band practice, with some scars from previous incidents, white and barely visible, but Moca still remembers each of their origin as she tenderly traces each one. As they sit alone in the band room, Moca finds it impossible to tear her eyes off the hand in her own, the fruit of Ran’s labour.

 

“What, you’re going to kiss it better or something?” Ran’s soft voice shakes Moca out from her thoughts despite its low volume, and she quickly allows Ran’s hand slip through her fingers.

 

“Nah, just thinking about something.”

 

Moca watches Ran sling the guitar strap over her head, notes the flutter of the strands of her black hair, and realises she wouldn’t be totally opposed to that idea.

 

* * *

 

As a debuted band, Afterglow is fairly popular in their school. It’s therefore no wonder that Tomoe’s always flooded with gifts from girls, or the tennis courts always have curious first-years hanging around to catch Himari playing.

 

It’s still a surprise, however, when Ran opens her shoe locker to see a pink envelope.

 

“Oh~ Ran’s got a secret admirer~” Moca whistles as she peers over Ran’s shoulder. In shock, Ran whirls around, stuffing the letter into her skirt pocket.

 

“They want you to meet them somewhere right? You should listen to what they have to say, Ran~”

 

“I don’t even know them. I wouldn’t go out with them anyway.” Ran crosses her arms defensively, but when she looks up, she’s surprised to see an unreadable, almost sad expression on Moca’s face, yet a small smile playing on her lips.

 

“Even so, they mustered up the bravery to write a letter and confess to you, that’s more courage than I can claim to have,” Moca walks past Ran, taking off her own shoes and placing them in her shoe locker, before turning back to face her friend, hands clasped behind her back, silvery grey hair framing her face and eyes that Ran just can’t seem to interpret.

 

“At least turn them down properly in person, yeah?”

 

That afternoon when she does appear on the roof as requested, the girl bows down low, pink flush on her cheeks, voice wavering, yet her words are very much what Ran didn’t expect.

 

“I-I know I’m about to get rejected, but…” She hiccups. “I just had to tell you my feelings, Mitake-san, so that I can move on!”

 

Ran startles, and awkwardly shuffles closer to the girl, moving to place her hand on the girl’s shoulder. Well, she wasn’t wrong, but...

 

“What made you certain you were going to get rejected?”

 

The girl looks up at Ran, the beginnings of tears in her eyes, and gives Ran a watery, unsteady smile.

 

“Isn’t Mitake-san dating Aoba-san?”

 

Ran’s eyes widen, and her hand falters just as she feels her heartbeat stutter.

 

* * *

 

“Thank you for coming!” “ ‘Sanks ya!”

 

Lisa gives Moca a reprimanding look as the customer leaves the store, the store’s doors making a cheery jingle as he steps out. Moca just grins cheekily. “I’m seeing how badly I can butcher it before someone notices,” she explains. To that, Lisa can only laugh.

 

Moca slouches in her seat, resting her head on her arms, leaning against the countertop as she yawns. Lisa just smiles tiredly at the sight. Having Moca as a co-worker has the nasty effect of making you sleepy on shift. Searching for an excuse for both of them to stay awake, Lisa asks, “So, anything exciting happen recently?”

 

Moca hums contemplatively. “Let’s see… I ate fifteen sweet buns yesterday… Saaya-san let me taste test her new flavour of bread… Tsugu brought iced cookies from her family’s cafe… Someone confessed to Ran…” She puts her palm face-up in front of her, ticking down fingers as she recounts the recent events. “Yeah, that seems about it!” Making a satisfied sound, Moca leans back on the stool, forgetting the absence of the back of the chair and nearly falling off. Lisa raises her eyebrow, but not at the lack of balance Moca’s currently showcasing.

 

“Someone confessed to Ran?”

 

“Yeah~ A love letter in the shoe locker and everything~” Moca reaches under the counter and pulls out a packaged blueberry bread. She tosses a hundred yen coin into the register, and rips open the plastic wrapping. It’s practically routine by now, and Lisa has given up trying to stop her from eating the shop’s stock so long as she actually pays for it.

 

“...And you’re not bothered by that?”

 

“Should I be?” Moca’s already halfway through the bread, practically inhaling it. A crumb falls on the countertop and Moca quickly swipes it with a finger.

 

“Yeah, well, you like her, don’t you?”

 

Moca chokes, and Lisa has to thump her on her back while laughing.

 

“You gotta get the girl before someone else does, y’know?”

 

Whether Moca’s red-faced from the lack of oxygen or some _other_ reason, Lisa doesn’t know, but it does get a smile out of her when Lisa notices the tiniest nod of Moca’s head.

 

* * *

 

“Moca.”

 

Moca doesn’t look up from her guitar, eyebrows knit together in concentration as she attempts to figure out the chord progression, strands of hair falling in front of her face. “Just a second~ I’ve nearly got this down…”

 

So Ran settles for watching Moca work her magic. Moca’s fingers travel along the guitar’s frets, trying out each note. If there’s one thing Ran envies about Moca, it’s the ability to play a song after hearing it just once. It’s when Ran sits back and watches, that it becomes apparent just how much Moca loves playing the guitar. For someone who often hops from one interest to another, guitar has been a surprising constant. A smile subconsciously works itself onto Moca’s face as she quickly figures out the chorus, fingers dancing across the guitar’s neck as she starts to get the hang of the song’s fast paced rhythm. Satisfied with the outcome, Moca lifts the guitar’s strap over her head, putting it aside before swinging her body to face Ran, giving Ran her fullest attention.

 

“Alright~ You were saying?”

 

Faced by Moca’s undivided gaze, Ran finds that whatever clarifications she had about Afterglow’s next song evaporates in her throat, her mouth going dry, It’s just normal old Moca, yet now looking at someone that Ran usually has no qualms sharing her deepest thoughts with, Ran realises that there’s _something, something_ that’s been buried for a long time, which is now bubbling, forcing its way to the surface.

 

Looking at Moca’s earnest eyes, slight smile and slouched posture, Ran realises that she wants to kiss Moca, she wants to run her fingers through her hair and cup her cheeks and place her hands on her waist and intertwine their fingers together.

 

“Ran?” At Ran’s lack of response, Moca cocks her head sideways in confusion, shuffling closer to Ran in an attempt to read her expression, their knees almost touching.

 

Ran’s never felt like running from Moca before, but faced with the urge to grab Moca’s hands, the uncomfortable churning of her stomach and the heat rising up to her cheeks, Ran wishes she could bolt from the room, yet her legs stay firmly glued to the floor.

 

Ran wants to kiss Moca, so she does.

 

Leaning in, Ran grips the break line of Moca’s hoodie, tugging her forward, their lips connecting awkwardly. She winces slightly at the clacking of teeth, yet Ran’s more focused on the pretty flush creeping up Moca’s neck, the widening of her eyes, before they flutter closed, Moca smiling against Ran. Ran feels Moca’s hands circle round her waist, pulling their warm bodies closer, and Ran prays Moca can’t feel the hammering of her heart against her ribcage as she breathes in Moca’s scent.

 

It ends as quickly as it began, Ran drawing away hastily, fingers trailing along Moca’s jaw. Ran’s eyes scrunch together in worry, because what if she just ruined what they had, what if Moca hadn’t liked it, what if Ran was a bad kisser and had just made the worst decision in her life--

 

But Moca breaks into a small grin as bright as the sun, eyes twinkling, the tips of her ears just as red as her cheeks, and Ran swears she’s never felt lighter.

 

They’ll be alright, she thinks, as Moca lightly brushes her thumb over Ran’s knuckles.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: scytherion.tumblr.com / scythes-spaghettis.tumblr.com
> 
> hi come shout stuff at me!! (9ovo)9
> 
> thanks for reading, and i hope you enjoyed!! ヽ( •.• )ﾉ☆


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